Hallucinations
by BettyHT
Summary: For the Halloween season, a darker story of poison and bizarre behavior with a cunning adversary. Added an expanded epilogue with chapter 9. It is a much lighter tale than the rest of the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Where are you?" Adam stood on the shore looking for the beautiful woman with the raven hair and the cloak of white feathers. He had seen her from the top of the hill and had rushed down here to see her. But now standing on the shore of the lake, he saw no woman and no raft. It had been a small raft, but even so, it could not have disappeared so quickly. He took off his boots and jacket to wade into the lake. He waded in and searched and searched but found nothing. He felt like he was floating after a time and wanted to just relax into the water and drift away to wherever that beautiful woman must have gone. Suddenly he was jolted from his reverie by a large hand grabbing his collar and dragging him from the lake.

"Damn, you, older brother. I'm near to freezing and I was in that water only long enough to drag you out. What were ya doing in there?" Hoss set Adam down on the grass and reached for his boots but realized he would need to remove the wet socks before putting his boots on. "Lordy, you're so cold. How am I gonna get you home and get you warmed up?" It wasn't freezing yet but it was very cool and the wind was blowing.

Hoss had been riding and driving cattle into the pasture when he had seen Adam veer off toward the lake. Wondering where his brother could be going, he had followed and from the top of the hill, watched as Adam took off his boots and waded into the frigid water. There had been several episodes recently where Adam had done some rather bizarre things, but this one was downright dangerous. He pulled Adam's wet shirt from him and helped him into his jacket but he knew it wasn't going to be enough. He picked up his coat and layered it over his brother's. Then he pulled on his dry socks and boots before helping Adam to his horse. Adam was shaking with cold by the time he got him on his horse and headed home. Hoss was shivering too and hadn't been in the water nearly as long. Late October was no time to be swimming in the lake.

"What happened?" Ben was scared as he saw Adam pale and slumped over his horse's neck. He helped him down and watched as Hoss dismounted. "You're both soaking wet. Get in the house and I'll have Hop Sing start a warm bath. Meanwhile the two of you need to get out of those wet clothes."

Later Ben and Hoss got Adam into a warm bed where he promptly fell asleep. He had said nothing that made sense for he had been looking for a woman in a feather cloak on a raft on the lake.

"Pa, this is a lot like him seeing that ghost and such in the cave. Pa, none of that was there. We all went there the next day and there was nothing."

"Yes, and when he said he was shooting at a band of women warriors who were chasing him, and there was nothing there either, no tracks, no women, no arrows, nothing."

"Pa, you don't think Adam could be, you know, losing his mind?"

"No, I can't believe that. Hoss, you know what they'll do with him if he's diagnosed with that. It would be better if he had drowned in that lake."

"Pa, ya cain't mean that. Pa, it's Adam!"

"I know, I know, but Hoss, I feel so helpless. He'll wake up tomorrow and he won't remember any of this, or at least that's what he'll tell us. He tells these fantastic stories, and then the next day can't remember any of it, what he says happened or even that he told us another story."

"Pa, what did Paul say when ya talked to him?"

"He has no idea. He says it is way outside of his experience for these events to occur, and then for Adam to seem so normal for a week or so afterwards, and then we have another strange episode like this."

"Pa, his marriage is on the line, and after today, his life is too. Pa, we gotta do something."

"What's happened now?" Aida had come back from visiting Claire and heard the voices upstairs. Seeing her husband lying in bed in the afternoon, she knew there had been another incident. Danny clung to her hand. It seemed that not only had Adam rejected any contact with Aida lately, but Danny was sensing something very wrong with his father and didn't want to go near him. Aida was sleeping in a guest bedroom now. She spent many days visiting her sisters-in-law or working with Joyce or Hop Sing in the kitchen. Danny went with her wherever she went.

"Ben, Hop Sing wants to know if he should brew some tea for Adam to warm him."

"He's asleep now. I think the bath warmed him enough. I would like some coffee though and I would imagine Hoss would too. Perhaps some hot soup and some biscuits for Hoss if he has some. He was very chilled too. Let's all go downstairs, and Hoss can tell Aida what happened."

So Hoss told Aida of following Adam to the lake and watching as he waded into the water. "I'm so sorry, Aida. Ifn I had any idea he was gonna do that, I would've been there sooner. At first, I just wondered where he was going. The way things have been going, I should have known something was wrong."

"Hoss, don't blame yourself. Ben and I have sat and talked with Paul. Adam refuses to talk with him for he says he can't remember any of these things we say he has done. We can't help him if he refuses to admit there's a problem. Actually this morning, he seemed a bit paranoid. He seems to think that somehow we are out to get him. It is all very frightening. The man I married is gone, and this stranger is in his place. Even Danny doesn't want to go by him."

"Papa, sick."

"Yes, he is, sweetie, but your father is a strong man. I hope he's strong enough to beat this, whatever it is."

No one had any more to say. Adam slept through the night, and as expected had no memory of any of the events of the day before. He stayed home. Ben returned inside after watching the hands heading out with Hoss to herd cattle. About midmorning, Mrs. Nolander arrived in the yard of the Ponderosa.

"Well, good morning, Mrs. Nolander. What brings you to the Ponderosa?"

"Oh, Ben, please, I've asked you to call me Maria. We're neighbors after all."

"Then Maria, what brings you to the Ponderosa?"

"I was worried. Adam said he would be back today to work on those repairs you sent him to do, and when he didn't arrive as expected, I waited and then thought I ought to alert you in case something had happened to him."

At that statement, Maria saw a dark look pass over Ben's face, and although she hid it well, she was pleased to see it.

"No, Adam is in the house. He must have forgotten."

At that point, Adam walked out with Aida and Danny. He had convinced them that they should accompany him on a ride to town. He already had the carriage all set to go. This was one of those days when Adam seemed like his old self, and Aida had agreed to go. When Adam saw Maria, he dropped Aida's hand and went to greet their neighbor. He grasped her hand and she stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Aida was shocked. He had not kissed her in nearly two weeks, but he accepted a kiss from a neighbor they hardly knew.

Maria Nolander had moved in just a few months before. Then only a month earlier, her husband had died suddenly of a fever and left her with a small ranch badly in need of repair. Ben had sent Adam to help her out. He had been there three days in the last two weeks. Now it seemed to Aida and to Ben, that Adam and Maria had developed a significant amount of familiarity in just two weeks.

"Maria, what brings you here." Adam continued to hold her hands.

"When you didn't show up as you promised, I worried about you. Were you planning to bring your wife and son with you this time?"

"No, we were just going to take a ride to town. That can wait, though. I'll get my horse saddled and head back with you. I can still get a lot of work done today."

Ben was shocked as was Aida who turned on her heel and headed back into the house with Danny next to her. "Adam, perhaps you could do this tomorrow. Aida was looking forward to spending the day with you."

It seemed that Adam didn't hear his father. He did what he said he was going to do, and saddled his horse for the ride to Maria's ranch. Another shock to Ben was when Maria suggested Adam ride with her, and he tied his horse to the back of the carriage and climbed in next to her. They drove off, and at dinnertime, Adam was not yet home. It was a very quiet dinner as no one knew what to say to Aida. Ben and Joyce were dismayed at Adam's behavior, and had no idea why he was acting that way.

As usual, there was a lantern hanging on the porch and another lit by the stable in anticipation of Adam arriving home. When Ben finally heard a horse in the yard, he grabbed his coat and walked out wanting some answers from his son. Aida was upstairs putting Danny to bed, and she heard Adam arrive home too. She read a story to Danny, but she intended to confront her husband too as soon as she could.

As Ben neared the stable, he heard Adam retching. Once he reached the stable, Adam was taking his canteen off his saddle and drinking apparently to dilute the acid residue in his mouth and throat. Ben was shocked at his appearance. He was disheveled and pale. Adam looked at Ben and shook his head. He seemed unable to speak or express how he felt.

"Adam, what's wrong?"

Choking the words out slowly one by one as if each one was a major effort, Adam answsered. "Pa, I don't know. I don't even know how I got home. I don't remember much of anything after I arrived at the Nolander ranch. Pa, what's wrong with me?"

Suddenly Adam arched his back and slammed back into the side of the stall. Then he crumpled to the ground. Ben rushed to his side to pull Adam away from the startled horse before he was trampled. As he got him far enough away, Adam went into a seizure as his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Oh, my God, what happened?" Aida had arrived just as the seizure began.

Holding his son, Ben looked up helplessly at Aida. "I don't know, but whatever has been wrong has just reached a crisis, I think. Please have Hop Sing get the guest room downstairs ready and have a hand ride for the doctor. I'll need some help getting him to the house too."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hands were dispatched to let Hoss and Joe know what had happened, and they were at the main house when Doctor Martin got there. Paul had been as perplexed as any of them with Adam's strange behavior, and now a seizure and collapse. Joyce directed him into the downstairs guest bedroom where Adam was quietly resting. Paul sent Aida and Ben out to be with the others.

"Did Adam say anything, Pa?"

"No, he never opened his eyes. He's breathing normally and doesn't seem to be in any distress, and there's no fever, but he wouldn't wake up either."

There were sandwiches and coffee supplied by Hop Sing, and the five waited for Paul to emerge. They were hoping for good news, but after an hour, Paul stepped out with a very sad look and no one expected good news when they saw that look.

"Paul, how is Adam?" Aida wanted to know but was terrified as to what he might say.

"Adam is not sleeping. He's in a coma. He is completely unresponsive to any stimuli."

There were gasps all around the room.

"What could have caused this to happen to my son?"

"Ben, Aida, I think Adam was poisoned. It is the only thing that fits with my examination of him and what I found. Depending on the type of poison used, it could account for his bizarre behavior over the last two weeks. Now Ben, you said he was vomiting in the barn. Can you show me?"

"I'm sure the hands have cleaned it up by now."

"Well, can you remember anything about the vomit? Any particular smell or color that you remember?"

Ben sat down and thought about what he had seen. He tried to visualize the whole thing. "It looked rather black to me. I thought that was unusual at the time, but then he was convulsing in a seizure, and I didn't pay any more attention to it."

"Aida, you were there too. Do you remember any smell or anything about Adam that you found unusual besides the seizure?"

Then Aida did the same thing Ben had done. She sat down and tried to visualize the whole scene. "He was holding his stomach as the seizure ended almost as if he was in great pain."

Paul nodded his head. "What you're telling me fits with what I have observed. Some poisons and toxins have hallucinogenic properties. I believe someone has been poisoning Adam repeatedly over the last two weeks. I don't know who or how and that really bothers me. We need to discover how he has been getting the poison first. If he gets any more at this point, and I hate to be this blunt, but I don't think he can survive it. He probably ingested enough poison to kill him but it was so much, his body rejected it. He wouldn't be alive now if he had not vomited up so much of that poison. But it was still enough to put him into a coma."

Hoss asked the next question that everyone had. "How long will this coma last?"

"A coma can last a day, two days, a week, a month, or a year or more. The longer it lasts, the less likely he will wake up from it."

"You mean that my husband may never wake up from this?"

"I'm sorry, Aida, but I can't hide the truth from you. All we can do now is try to get him to take fluids and keep it calm and quiet for him. Talk to him though. Sometimes people in comas can hear people. If that's true, you may be able to pull him back. There's no way to know if he hears you though until he wakes up."

"Paul, how can he take fluids if he doesn't wake up?"

"Swallowing is an automatic reaction. If you hold him up or prop him up and put a small amount of fluid in his mouth, he may swallow. You'll know when he's ready to do that because if he isn't, the fluid will just run out. Try a variety of fluids. Usually my experience is that warm works best, but there's no absolute in this. Try anything to see if he will swallow. Without fluids, he has less chance of recovering."

"Paul, what about his arm?" When undressing Adam, Aida and Ben had discovered numerous scratches and bruises on his left arm. Now Aida wanted to know if he had any idea how Adam had received those injuries.

"I can't be sure, but from what I saw, it looked like he was trying to get away from someone. There are marks from what appear to be two hands and scratches that correspond to those. Because it's his left arm, my conclusion would be that he was on his horse, and someone tried to pull him off or at the very least prevent him from mounting up."

There was a knock on the door and Joe went to answer it. It was Candy with Adam's canteen. He handed it to Joe who asked him what was going on.

"Joe, I went to clean up Adam's gear. His saddle was quite a mess. It looked like he must have retched on the way home and not just in the stable. When I got that done, I was going to drain his canteen and let it dry out. When I did that, this started to come out of it."

Candy held up his hand with some black ooze in it. Joe tipped the canteen and soon had some in his hand too. Hop Sing saw it and yelled at the two men.

"No, no, you come in kitchen. You wash hand. Very bad. You wash."

Paul walked over to look at the black ooze and took the canteen and smelled it. "Well I think we know where he was getting poisoned."

"What is that stuff?" Hoss got right to the point that everyone was thinking.

"There's no way for me to tell other than it seems to be plant based. Someone is brewing this from plants they're grown or purchased. Maybe someday there will be a way to analyze a poison like this, but right now, I could only guess."

"Paul, how can that explain some of Adam's behavior?" Aida was hoping that at least some of this could make sense.

"I definitely would think it is the reason for his behavior changes, and probably all of his unusual behavior. He could have been hallucinating as a result of the poison. But with some of the drugs that could have been used, a person could have been planting ideas in his mind when he was deeply under the influence of the drug or drugs. He could be unwittingly doing as instructed without being aware of it. A more worrisome theory could be that there are changes in his brain as a result of the poison making him act in uncharacteristic ways much like a stroke can affect a person's personality."

"Someone planting ideas? You mean that he knows the person who was doing this to him?" Ben was incensed to think that someone they knew had done this.

"Ben, think about this. Who would have access to his canteen, and possibly his food, in order to continually give him doses of this poison? I think someone wanted him dead. And it's someone we know."

Everyone was very quiet and thinking after that. Joe was the first and only one to offer an idea. "All this trouble started after Pa sent Adam over to help Mrs. Nolander. Maybe someone doesn't like us helping her."

As the family thought about that, they had to agree with the timing, but the motivation seemed too strange to be true. No one had any other ideas though. Ben asked Candy to alert the men to watch for anything unusual. He hoped no one would try to get to Adam now but didn't want to take any chances. Candy understood.

"The usual? One hand in the loft watching out over the whole place?"

"Yes, and we'll keep a lantern burning by the stable and one by the house. In fact, perhaps we'll have one out back just in case. We'll keep a few lamps burning inside too. Hop Sing, please keep your shotgun loaded and ready. And you two should head home to your wives and children. Do you want anyone to watch over your places?"

Both Joe and Hoss declined for the night but said they would discuss it with their wives and get back to Candy with a final answer the next day. The two brothers left then. Candy left to take care of those things that Ben wanted done. Aida went to sit by Adam's side, and Paul asked if he could sleep there that night and leave early in the morning.

"I can't do anything for Adam right now, but it's late and dark, and I would prefer going back to town when I can see the road."

"Of course, Paul. Joyce, will you show Paul to the guest room upstairs, please. I want to say goodnight to Adam and Aida, and then I'll make sure the house is locked up tight."

In the early morning hours, Danny woke up crying. Ben and Joyce found him wet and cold. After changing him into dry clothing with Joyce's help, Ben carried the sobbing child downstairs. "Mama, Papa, Mama, Papa." His call for his parents was heart rending. Aida heard them coming and took Danny from Ben's arms outside the room where Adam lay.

"I don't want him to disturb Adam."

"Aida, Paul said that Adam might be able to hear what's going on around him. He said that might call him back to us. What could be a stronger call than a son for his father?"

Danny had quieted in his mother's arms. Aida carried him into the bedroom, and he stretched out his arms to his father. He had not done that in days. It was as if he sensed that a change had taken place. Aida set him on the bed, and Danny snuggled into his father's side. Aida pulled the blanket over him as his eyes closed. She looked at Ben and nodded. Perhaps it would help. Ben told her to go to bed and get some rest, but she said she couldn't. So Ben told her to lie on the other side of Adam. He pulled a blanket that had been folded at the foot of the bed and covered his daughter-in-law.

"You sleep. I'll sit here, and I'll wake you if I see any change." Aida said that she would try to sleep but wasn't sure she could.

About four in the morning, Joyce tapped Ben lightly on the shoulder and whispered to him. "I'll take over now. You go back to bed for a few hours."

Ben had nearly nodded off at least a dozen times so he didn't need any more encouragement. After he left, Joyce sat and surveyed the family lying in the bed. Adam looked like such a choirboy when he was completely relaxed in sleep. Joyce knew that he wasn't, but he had such a strong moral code, he could never truly do something bad. Aida looked worried even as she slept but Joyce thought it was probably because of all that had worried her for the past two weeks. A lot of tears had been shed, and the young woman still had so much to face.

Then there was Danny who at ten months was looking more and more like his father every day. He was bright and coordinated too which had led to a number of small disasters as he was smart enough to get into things and skilled enough to do it but had the common sense of a rock as Hoss described it. She had to smile as she thought of the boy and the man he would become. Without the isolation, hard work, and deprivation like his father had experienced as a child, she wondered just what kind of man he would be. She wiled away the time with thoughts like that until dawn began lighting the room. She could already hear Hop Sing getting busy in the kitchen.

Soon there would be a number of people up and about, and Adam still lay as pale, still, and unresponsive as he had been the night before. Paul surprised her a few minutes later by knocking lightly on the doorjamb. He looked over the three in bed and whispered to Joyce that he was leaving but would return in the late afternoon to check in on Adam. He would be back sooner than that to treat another Cartwright, but he didn't know that yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hearing Paul and Joyce talking, Aida awoke. As she sat up on the edge of the bed, the movement woke Danny who sat up as well. Joyce picked him up as Aida stood.

"You should go freshen up. I've got Danny, and I can take care of his breakfast too so you don't have to rush. I'm sure Ben will be down soon, and Hop Sing is already at work."

Reaching down to touch Adam's cheek, Aida was shocked at how warm he was. She sat at his side quickly and put her hand on his chest finding that he was very hot.

"Does he have a fever?"

Aida nodded, and Joyce reminded her that Paul had said that could happen as his body reacted to the toxins and the need to clean his system. Now more than ever, they needed to get some fluids in him. Almost as if reading their minds, Hop Sing appeared with some hot sweet tea and a spoon. Working together, Hop Sing and Aida were able to pull Adam more upright and put pillows behind him to prop him up. Aida took a spoonful of tea and eased Adam's mouth open so she could pour the tea over his tongue. He closed his mouth and swallowed. She wanted to yell for joy. Finally something was working as she hoped. She continued to spoon the tea in and he swallowed each time. When she finished, she tried to talk Adam into opening his eyes. He grimaced a few times but then his face relaxed and she knew he had lapsed back into a deeper coma again. Several more times that morning, they attempted the same thing. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but they were getting fluid into him. The fever did not rise to a level that was worrisome.

By midmorning, Hoss and Joe were back and their wives and children had come with them. Just to be safe, they were all going to stay in the house. It would be crowded, but this way they could help each other. Aida was especially grateful because Danny loved being in Josh's company so he was much easier to care for that way.

The family members again discussed what had happened and who might be responsible. No one had any more ideas. No one could think of anyone with a current gripe against Adam or against any of them for that matter. Adam's past was considered but no one could come up with a scenario for how that could lead to someone they knew poisoning Adam. It was all so inexplicable. Joe said he was going to follow Adam's path from the day before and see if he found anything unusual.

Playing detective was exactly the thing that Joe liked doing. Hoss took charge of things that needed to be done on the ranch. The ladies and children stayed in the house and helped Aida care for Adam. Ben stayed inside as well for most of the day. Because they didn't know who had done this to Adam, they had to be very cautious. No one came to visit and the hands never saw anyone visiting the ranch so there were no easy answers.

The only one actively seeking answers was Joe. As he traced Adam's trail from the night before, he found that it was somewhat erratic but in a general direction of the Nolander ranch. The closer he got, the more he thought that something had happened on that ranch. There was evidence that Adam had been unable to control his horse well the night before for the entire ride home. As Joe rode into the Nolander ranch yard, his senses were on high alert. Now Adam had supposedly worked here on repairs on three days, but other than a box of tools sitting by the stable, Joe could see no repairs that had been completed.

"Hello, Joe. Did you get lost on your way home?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Nolander. I was following Adam's track from last night and it led me here."

"Well, why would you be following Adam's track. Couldn't he just tell you where he was?"

"Adam's in a coma. Somebody poisoned him. Doc doesn't know if he'll make it. He says one more dose of that poison could kill him."

"Oh, my, that is awful." Maria staggered then in shock. But it wasn't shock that Adam had been poisoned. It was shock that he was still alive. She thought he had drunk enough of the special brew the day before to have finished him off. If not, she had dosed his canteen very liberally with her special concoction and that should have done it. She didn't know how it had failed, but unwittingly Joe reassured her.

Dismounting quickly, Joe, in his best white knight mode, rushed to Mrs. Nolander's side so she didn't fall. He helped her to a chair on her porch.

"Poison! How did he survive being poisoned?"

"He retched a lot. Apparently he threw up enough of the poison so it didn't kill him, but otherwise he would already be gone. Now do you know anyone who would be upset about him working here?"

"Well, I have no idea. Why don't you come inside? I was just brewing up some sweet tea. I think you'll like it. We can talk about this and see if I can think of someone dastardly enough to do this."

Sitting at Mrs. Nolander's table drinking a cup of her sweet tea, Joe began to evaluate what he had learned. She acted now as if there was nothing wrong. He would have expected her to be more concerned. He remembered the repairs that had not been done. Then he remembered what Paul had said about the poison and what it could do to a person. Unfortunately, he was almost done with the cup of tea before he realized he probably should not have been drinking it. He stood to leave, and the room spun around. She was there immediately to help him sit again. She poured another cup of tea for him and insisted he drink it. He knew there was something he was going to do but couldn't remember what it was. He drank and tried to concentrate but his mind was not cooperating.

"I hear you are quite a horseman. I think that when you finish that tea, you should ride home and not let anything deter you from a straight line directly home. Nothing in your way is an obstacle. You can jump them all. You are a great horseman. You can jump that horse of yours over anything. Isn't that right, Joe?"

"Yes, yes, you're right. There's nothing I can't jump with my horse. We can jump anything."

"There, now, why don't you ride right on home then? I'll clean up here."

Standing caused Joe to stumble once again, but Mrs. Nolander was right there to help him. He was thinking she was a darn helpful woman as he walked with her aid from the house to his horse. He mounted up and rode toward home easily jumping the fence instead of going the long way around and through the large gate. He continued his headlong ride home until he tried to jump a large pile of rocks and rubble from a landslide. His horse made it but stumbled a bit on landing, and Joe flew over the head of his horse and into a pile of jagged rocks. He felt a searing pain in his leg and then darkness rescued him from agony.

Maria Nolander was sitting in her kitchen and thinking. She thought she had eliminated a problem the day before but apparently had failed. She couldn't believe he wasn't dead. She wondered for a moment if Joe had been lying and trying to trick her. Then she thought he couldn't be that good at acting that he could be so casual if his brother had truly died. Once again she wondered why he had not. After he rebuffed her the day before, she had grown furious. She had groomed him for two weeks feeding him her special concoction and planting all sorts of ideas in his head. He had taken the first doses in coffee but that had been enough to get him to take her special tea, and then she had made sure each time that some of the thick concoction was at the bottom of his canteen and leaching into every drink of water he had. That way he was getting doses even when he was not on her ranch. She knew he would hallucinate and behave in an uncharacteristic manner but that actually helped because people would think he was losing his mind.

All Maria had wanted from Adam was a Cartwright heir. With a child from him, she could claim some of the Cartwright wealth. She didn't need to marry one of them. She had wished the old man had sent one of his younger sons. She thought she could probably already be with child if he had done that. That older one had been somewhat difficult to manage. She realized she had probably tried for her ultimate goal too soon. If she had just been a bit more patient with him, it might have worked.

But yesterday when Maria had moved to seduce him, some part of his brain had still been aware enough to reject her. She had plied him with more and more of her special brew until she knew it was far too much. She had thought he would die, and that would eliminate all the evidence of her machinations. She had tried to get him to stay until he was so far gone he could not have gotten home where he could be helped, but some part of him recognized the danger and fought her until he had wheeled his horse about and rode off. Even then she wondered how he had stayed in the saddle. Now she needed a new plan to rid herself of him. She had already taken care of three husbands, and with each one, her lot in life had improved. She had gone from a dirt poor urchin in south Texas to a landowner in Nevada, but she wanted more, and Adam Cartwright stood in her way.

Well actually, Adam lay in her way. He had not awakened, but Aida was somewhat reassured because his breathing remained normal and his heart rate was steady and strong. The fever did not rise much, but he was sweating profusely. Luckily with help, she had been able to get him to drink a cup of fluid every hour. He swallowed, he yawned, and made a few guttural moans but never opened his eyes. Ben too felt better with the apparent improvement in Adam's condition, but like the others, they waited for Paul's return to know if these were hopeful signs of improvement or not.

In mid-afternoon, Ben and the ladies heard a lot of commotion in the yard. Aida stayed at Adam's side, but the others went outside to see what was happening. Alice nearly fainted when she saw the cause. Joe was bloody, unconscious, and had a leg that was obviously broken. The men were lifting him from a wagon to bring him into the house. Ben directed them to carry him upstairs and turned to Hoss to ask what had happened.

"Pa, his horse came running into the pasture where we was working, He had bloody forelegs and the reins were hanging loose. Pa, Joe tried to jump that big ole rockpile in the far southeast pasture. That was a crazy thing to try. He could have been killed." Ben and Joyce were shocked, and Hoss suddenly understood why. Joe had done something crazy and almost gotten himself killed. "Pa, it's just like Adam!"

"Yes, it appears to be. I want you to stay at the house. Don't go anywhere alone. Did you send someone for the doctor?"

"Yeah, Pa, we sent someone right from where we were working. He should be here soon. We couldn't go too fast as bad as Joe was hurt."

"Where was he? Where was he that someone could poison him?"

"Pa, he said he was gonna backtrack Adam's trail. He thought he could find something out by doing that. You know how he loves to play at being a detective. But, Pa, he was onto something. He must have run into whoever did this to Adam."

"Yes, and we're going to get Roy and backtrack both of their trails and see where they cross. That's where our adversary is."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Screams from upstairs announced when Paul was setting Joe's broken leg. Luckily it was a clean break, but Joe's head injury would not allow Paul to give him any narcotic until he was sure he could recover from that damage. Joe passed out from the pain which was the only benefit of setting his leg before dealing with his other injuries. Ben and Hoss sat with their wives and the children who luckily were too young to know how badly things were going. Paul had been there over an hour already working on Joe, so they had not been able to ask him about Adam.

That was less of a concern suddenly as Aida stepped out to call Ben and Hoss to the guest bedroom. Adam was blinking his eyes, and Ben and Hoss thought they had never seen a prettier sight. Joe's scream had startled him enough and as he reacted, Aida had called to him over and over to please open his eyes. Now she cajoled him into keeping them open.

"Adam, sweetie, just keep those eyes open. C'mon now, we need you to fight this. Fight harder." She became a little more agitated as it appeared he might fall back into the coma, but he struggled instead to say something. Aida leaned down to hear his strained whisper and then sat up to turn with a smile to the others.

"He wants to know what happened, and he wants some help him with the urinal."

Smiling Hoss returned to the others to tell them Adam was awake and lucid. Ben pushed the door closed so that he and Aida could see to Adam's personal needs. Then they pulled the damp sheets from him, and replaced them with the clean crisp sheets Hop Sing had left in the room earlier. They got Adam settled back against the pillows once more, and then tried to engage him in conversation. His throat was inflamed from the retching he had done, and his voice was weak because he was weak, but he could communicate.

"Adam, do you remember what happened at all?"

"I remember you asking me to help Mrs. Nolander at her ranch. Then I remember some hazy things since then but nothing clearly until I woke up just now."

Shocked that Adam had so little memory of the past two weeks, Aida pressed him more. "What hazy things do you remember?"

Adam looked at her and his brows furrowed. She and Ben knew he didn't want to say so they encouraged him.

"Adam, sweetie, nothing you say is going to shock me. We have had a difficult two weeks around here, and we're trying to understand what happened."

"Son, we don't blame you for anything. We know what happened to you, but we're trying to find out who did it to you."

That got Adam's attention. Aida had not wanted to tell him so soon about the poison, but even in his weakened and confused state, his mind had zeroed in on his father's statement so they had to let him know what they knew. So she told him about being poisoned and about what Paul had said about what the poison could do. Then he knew. The weird things he had been thinking had actually happened. He was so embarrassed and guilty then for his behavior.

"So, I did push you away? I wouldn't kiss you?" At Aida's nod, he closed his eyes in his humiliation and remorse. "I am so sorry. I didn't think there was anything that would ever make me hurt you, and I did hurt you. What can I do to make things better for us?"

"You already did. Now that you are back to yourself, you have made it clear you didn't mean any of those things that happened."

"But how could I have been poisoned? I don't remember anyone doing that to me."

"We don't know how you got the first dose, but there was some in your canteen, and every drink of water you took from that canteen, added more poison to your system. Can you remember anything about anyone you were with in the last two weeks who might have given you something to eat or drink?"

"Other than going to church; I did go to church, didn't I?" At Aida's nod, he continued. "I haven't been off the ranch in two weeks except to help Mrs. Nolander."

Then no one spoke for a minute. Aida and Ben noticed that he did not use the more familiar address of Maria, but spoke of her as he would any neighbor he didn't know very well. All three began to wonder what her role in this was. She was the only part of the puzzle that was a constant. Aida and Ben knew that Joe had likely ridden to her ranch too. Hop Sing knocked and brought in a cup of hot thick broth for Adam to drink, and then he set a cup of coffee on the bedside table as well.

"Mister Adam want other drink?"

"Thank you, Hop Sing. Yes, a tall glass of lemonade would be wonderful." And suddenly Adam remembered a tall glass of lemonade and then cups of coffee the first day he was at Mrs. Nolander's place. He had just pulled tools from the stable to do some work, and she had brought him a drink and then more drinks. Then after that his memory was foggy and he wasn't sure about anything until he had awakened in this bed. A hazy memory of her unbuttoning his shirt and then running her hands across his chest made him shiver. Adam looked at Aida.

"I remember some things. I'll tell you, but I have to warn you that you won't like hearing some of it." Then with his head down, Adam recounted everything he could remember, some early memories like the lemonade which were fairly clear, and other darker and more hazy memories of Mrs. Nolander kissing him and groping. He couldn't be sure those things happened, but was afraid that those memories were real. Once Adam looked up after relating what he remembered, he was afraid of how Aida would look at him. He need not have feared. She sat next to him on the bed, took his face between her hands, and kissed him soundly. Ben quietly left the room.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't trust you. I should have known something had been done to you to make you act the way you did. I know how embarrassed you must be to have to tell us these things, but I trust you more now than ever. You didn't hold anything back, and I love you more than I thought was possible."

"Now I need something from you. Tell me what's been going on around here. I can hear all sorts of conversation drifting in from outside, and it seems that everyone is terribly worried about something. It isn't me or you or Pa, and I saw Danny, Hoss, Joyce, and Hop Sing, so who's in trouble now?"

So Aida had to tell Adam what little they knew of Joe and what had happened to him. She said Doctor Martin was still with him, and they had not heard what the doctor had to say yet.

"I want to go out there. I want to be with my family, my whole family."

"Adam, you are in no shape to be walking around."

"I know. I can sit in a chair as well as I can sit here though. I'll try to do it by myself if no one helps me, and you know I will."

"Oh, and were you planning to go out there without any clothing. Everything you had on was reeking and we burned them once we realized some of that poison was on them from your retching."

"Please, Aida. It's very important to me to be with my family now."

"I'll get you some clothes. If you can get yourself dressed, then I'll get Hoss to help you to a chair."

Adam knew that getting dressed was likely to be difficult, but he saw the slight grin his wife was trying to hide. She was glad to have him back.

"Could you do one more thing for me before you leave?"

"And what would that be?"

"Come here."

Kissing his wife with all the passion he could muster, Adam was soon out of breath and held her to his chest as she snuggled in. Sitting like that for a few minutes healed a lot of hurt. Then she got him his clothes, helped him shave, and then asked Hoss to help him to a chair. Danny was so excited he walked from the red chair over to the blue chair where Hoss helped Adam sit.

"You're walking. Danny, when did you start walking?"

"Ah, right now. He's been close for quite a while but seeing you seems to have made him forget his fear and let go."

Danny basked in his father's smile and praise as he stood next to the blue chair. Then Paul appeared at the top of the stairs, and the smiles in the group disappeared at his grave look. Once he got to the bottom of the stairs, he told Alice she could go up to see Joe and he would be back up to talk with her. She rushed past him on the stairs.

"As you know, Joe has a broken leg. It was a clean break and set well. I splinted it, and I'll be back every day for this week to resplint it as the swelling goes down. He has a nasty gash on the side of his head and that's where most of the blood came from that you were all so worried about. I stitched that up and no one will even see the scar once it heals. It will all be covered by his hair. What worries me most is the concussion. I can't tell how serious that is until I can talk with him. He's in so much pain and so groggy now that when he's awake, he can't talk. You know the drill. Wake him every hour or two until he seems lucid." Looking at the worried family, Paul had to say more. "He could have been hurt much worse or even killed, but he is very muscular and managed to protect himself somewhat by curling to soften the blow."

"Was he poisoned?" Ben thought he knew the answer but wanted confirmation.

"By what he retched up, yes, there's no doubt that he had some of the same thing Adam had. By the way, Adam, I can see I don't have to check on you. Just remember to take it easy until that poison is completely out of your system. Drink as much as you can. I'll talk to you and Aida later about your recuperation and what you need to do."

"Paul, Hop Sing was about to serve. Would you stay and eat with us?"

Paul was more than happy to agree to that, but said he needed to go and talk with Alice first. Once they were all sitting down to eat, the discussion turned to Mrs. Nolander. They were all sure now that she had poisoned both Adam and Joe. Why was still a mystery.

"Pa, we need to tell Roy. She can't get away with doing that to my brothers."

"Hoss, that's exactly what I was thinking, but we have a big problem with proof."

"Why, you dun got Adam's story, and Joe can tell us the same once he wakes up."

"Hoss, none of what I remember is likely to be taken seriously. Paul can tell you that I was hallucinating and that my mind was affected by the drugs. How can I swear that what I remember is the truth of what happened? I know it is, and I think everyone here knows that too, but under the law, it won't be believable. It's one thing to know the truth, but in a court, it has to be proven. And knowing and proving are two entirely different things." Adam ate the soft scrambled eggs that Hop Sing had made for him, and sipped his water and coffee.

"Well, dadburnit, what are we gonna do then? That woman is dangerous."

"Roy should be here soon. We'll ask him what he thinks, and then we need to come up with a plan."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Adam, after everyone finishes, I would like to talk with you and your wife."

Paul's request sounded more like an order than a query, and everyone left the table as soon as they finished. Joyce took Danny from Aida and said she would watch him until the two of them were done speaking with Paul.

"Adam, I'm glad to see you drinking as I asked, and eating lightly. But your kidneys and especially your liver need time to recuperate. I know you want justice especially after what happened to your brother, but you need to stay here. I don't want you even walking outside now. You need to be careful. Your color is off. I'm sure Aida has noticed that. Well it's a sign that your liver was damaged. Now I think you will recover completely but you can't take any strain now."

From the great room by the fireplace the other adults were being reasonably quiet and straining to hear. They heard most of what Paul had said, and expected Adam to respond in opposition, but they were surprised.

"I know, Paul. I would be a handicap to anyone now if I tried to ride with them. They would have to watch out for me as much as anything. I'll stay here, but don't expect me to be idle. Someone has to be here to keep the women and children safe. I think Hop Sing and I can take care of the house."

It was probably the best compromise that Paul and Aida could get from Adam under these circumstances. There may have been a bit of bravado in his statement, but that he recognized he would need Hop Sing's help was an admission too that he knew how weak he was. Aida put her arm around him and leaned in close.

"Thank you. I know how hard this must be for you."

There was a rider there then and everyone assumed it was Roy. Instead it was Johnny from the bakery in town. He had a box of cookies that he said had been sent to them as a gift. Ben gave him a tip and brought the box inside. Hoss reached in to grab a cookie and take a bite, but Adam slapped it out of his hand and told him to spit out the bite he had taken.

"Now why'd you go do that? You still being crazy with that potion you had?"

"No, maybe, but no. Don't you smell it? Those cookies smell just like that sweet tea. I'll never forget that smell."

"Adam, son, these cookies smell just like cookies to me."

Paul walked over and sniffed though trying to smell what Adam had. It was difficult to ignore the smell of the icing and the sugar cookies, but Paul understood what Adam meant. There was an unusual odor with the other smells. It wasn't bad, but it didn't smell like iced cookies either.

"Ben, I think Adam is correct. There's a funny odor with these cookies. Not bad, but not the smell I associate with sugar cookies."

"We need to have one of us go to town and talk to that Johnny. He must have been asked to do this by Mrs. Nolander. We need to get some information from him."

Roy rode in about that time, and they were all glad to see him. They told them the story they had, and Adam recounted again what had happened to him. He was embarrassed to share some of the details, but they all did need to know what they were facing. Then Ben explained about Johnny and the cookies.

"Ben, that bakery is run by two sisters. Now they make some mighty fine baked goods, but Ben, they don't deliver. It's just the two of them. Mary works in the kitchen baking. Nancy works out front doing the icing, taking orders, and selling stuff. Now I could see who bought a box of cookies there today, and that might help us build a case ifn it is Mrs. Nolander who bought em."

"Why did she want to poison all of us?" Claire was very upset that the children might have been hurt.

Paul had a theory. "I don't think she wanted to poison all of us. She just wanted to get one more dose in the one person here who could not tolerate any more." Almost everyone looked at Adam then. Roy asked what was going on and would they please tell him everything. So Paul filled him in on Adam's condition. Then they all understood. If she could remove Adam, there would only be conjecture about what she had done. There wouldn't be an eyewitness to tie the pieces together for a jury.

"Ben, I was delayed a bit too because I wanted to find out about her selling her ranch."

"What? Roy, she sold her ranch?"

"Yes, I knew from what I heard that you folks was suspicious of her, so I checked it out. She sold it cheaper than she had to but this way she got her money quick. I expect she'll be gone soon."

"But then why did she try to kill my husband?" Aida wanted just one chance at this woman, just one chance.

"Well, I guess could swear out a warrant for her if a judge accepts Adam's story as enough to make her a suspect. Now ifn she's real smart, she would want to take care of that too before she leaves. Now let me get Adam's statement and then whatever else any of you have to add, and I'll bring it to the judge to see what he says."

Upstairs, Joe wanted to know what was going on. Alice went to find out and came back with Roy and Ben. Adam had looked at the stairs when Roy said he wanted to talk to Joe. Hoss had walked over to him to offer his assistance but they had to move slowly. They arrived after Roy had already filled Joe in on what they wanted to do and why. Joe had a big grin when Adam walked through the door.

"Well, older brother. It's good to see you upright and according to Roy making sense too. Guess I like you a lot better this way."

"Thanks, Joe. I like me better this way too."

"Sorry about the leg. If I had been awake, I could have told you about that tea."

"Not your fault at all, older brother. We know who's responsible for all this mess. I still can't think of a reason why though. I had a lot of time to think just laying here, and it still doesn't make any sense."

"Joe, maybe she was so taken with our older brother here, that all she wanted was to get him inta her bed." Hoss chuckled and Joe snickered. Adam turned his head and rubbed his neck. Nothing could ever keep his brothers down for long.

Remembering that he had the sweet tea with Mrs. Nolander as well, Joe explained the ride after he left her place. He couldn't remember what she had said to him. Roy wrote down the part about the tea, and Joe signed his statement as Adam had done with his. They still didn't have enough probably but they had started the legal process.

Up in the trees above the house, Maria Nolander had been watching. She had seen the woman she had hired to deliver the cookies arrive dressed as a boy. She had hoped the cookies would be eaten quickly but was disheartened when she saw Hoss Cartwright bring them outside and put them in a burn barrel with a stack of kindling. He had such a sad look on her face, she would have laughed if her failure wasn't so infuriating. Why did Adam Cartwright have so many people looking out for him. She would have to move on to plan B she supposed. She had hoped not to have to do that, but she had watched for almost two hours and that sheriff was still there. She would need to do something drastic to keep him from going after her. She went to where her horse was tied, mounted up, and rode home with her bulging saddlebags. She had plenty of cash to buy land elsewhere or to snag husband number four. She hadn't decided yet which way she wanted to go with that as soon as she cleaned up the mess here so it wouldn't follow her and taint her next moves.

The next morning, Hoss was packing up Claire and Josh to take them back to their home. There was no reason to suspect there would be any trouble for them, and his whole family longed for some time in their home to relax and have fun as a family. It was always fun to be with everyone but now Adam was still recuperating, and Joe had a long recuperation ahead of him and would be staying at the main house for some time until he could move around using crutches.

The family still had not devised a plan for dealing with Mrs. Nolander and what she had tried to do to their family. Adam usually was the devious one who would come up with the seed plan to which they could all then add their ideas. And Joe was the schemer who would have all sorts of ideas. But neither of his brothers were thinking too well yet, so their father had said perhaps they should all just be very careful for a few days and wait to see what Roy could do.

By late in the morning, Roy arrived at the Ponderosa main house again. Ben was actually surprised to see him so soon. From the look on Roy's face, he knew something serious had happened.

"Ben, I'm sorry, but I gotta question you on something that happened. Now I know Adam is in no shape to do anything and Joe's tied to a bed more or less, but you and Hoss are still in fine fiddle."

"Roy, what in tarnation are you talking about?"

"Ben, Mrs. Nolander's house done burned to the ground last night. I was just over there with Clem and Paul and some others. We found a woman's body in what was left of that house. She was burned pretty bad, but we gotta assume that Mrs. Nolander is dead. Now based on what you told me, you and your family were the only ones who had a grudge against her."

"Roy, that is ridiculous. No one in this family including me would do anything like that."

"Ben, I ain't saying any of ya did anything. I'm just saying that I need to question ya. Now do you have an alibi for last night?"

"Well, of course. I was here. And Hoss was here. Heck the whole family was here last night. You know that."

"Well Ben is there anyone else who can testify that all of ya was here last night?"

"The hand who was watching in the loft could tell you that not one of us took a horse or a carriage out last night. But no, no one else was in the house except the family."

The loud conversation, well loud from Ben, awakened Adam from his nap and brought Aida and Joyce from the kitchen with Danny toddling behind and Mary Elizabeth cradled in Joyce's arms. Alice was upstairs with Joe but had come to the top of the stairs to listen.

Repeating his story for the enlarged audience, Roy still had to ask if anyone knew anything about what happened. Adam had the most pertinent question which revealed more than anything that he was recovering well.

"Roy, is there some evidence that the fire was set deliberately? It's cold out now, and most people have their fireplaces and stoves burning all day and night. Fire is always a possibility. Why are you questioning us as if there was some foul play?"

"Well, now, you see Paul was there to examine the body once everything cooled enough so we could get it out of there. He said the neck was broken. Now that coulda happened accidental like but I got to cover all the possibilities to write this up."

"She was in the house when it burned, and there was still a body to find. Doesn't that seem a bit odd to you, Roy. An all wooden house burns very hot I would think, and yet the body survived."

"Well, yes, Adam, that thought did cross our minds. You got any ideas about that?"

"Well, I would be thinking that someone set that fire, and threw the body in as the fire burned down so that it could be found. Seems to me someone wanted you to think she had been murdered."

"Now, I had that same idea, Adam. You got any idea on who you think that someone is?"

Adam actually smirked then. He hadn't done that in a while. "Roy, you know exactly what I'm thinking, because you're thinking it too."

"Well, I want to know what the two of you are thinking if you wouldn't mind sharing with all of us." Ben was feeling a little frustrated and still hadn't recovered completely from his earlier anger at Roy's questions.

Joyce took Ben's arm, and stated what she had understood from that exchange. "Ben, they think she did it. Mrs. Nolander. They think she set the fire."

"And threw herself into the flames after she broke her neck. No, of course not. You think she killed someone else and put that person into her house so we would think she was dead, and that the law would be looking at us as likely suspects." Seeing nods all around, Ben had the next logical question. "Well, then, what are we going to do about her?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Sitting on a slight rise overlooking the Ponderosa main house, Maria Nolander was well hidden by pines. She watched that day as Hoss Cartwright left with his family. She saw Sheriff Coffee ride over and his direction indicated that he had likely come from her burned out home. She chortled inwardly thinking about the Cartwrights squirming under his questions. It was such a great job of planning on her part to hire that woman to dress as a boy and deliver those cookies. She had been waiting at Maria's house when she arrived home. Maria had told her to sit at the table and had poured her a cup of tea. She had said she was going to count out the woman's money but instead had waited until she was under the influence of her special concoction. Then it had been a simple matter to grab her head and twist it until she heard the bones snap. She had never killed that way before and had found it exhilarating.

Maria was thinking how much she would like to kill Adam Cartwright that way but he was too strong and too tall for her to try it. That's when she decided a knife would be her best weapon. She began to fantasize about the blade sliding into his back meeting some resistance at first and then plunging into his internal organs as she twisted the blade to increase the pain and the damage. With none of her special brew, he would feel every inch of the blade penetrating. Although she had originally thought to shoot him from a distance whenever he ventured outdoors, now she couldn't resist the temptation of killing him up close.

Using that concoction Maria brewed had been very satisfying to her. It gave her a sense of power and control. She had been weak and poor, dependent upon men to marry her and support her. They used her for their own needs too. But with the brew, she had turned the tables on all of them. She had learned so much from the Native Americans in several places where she had lived. They knew so much more about the properties of plants and what each could do. Her potion was getting better and better with its combination of flowers, cacti, and mushrooms from a number of places. Her first husband had lingered for days vomiting up blood and crying out for succor. She had tried to give him more of her potion, but somehow he knew that was what had done that to him and would take no more. She had made improvements on her recipe since then. Now it did more to the mind than the body, and her control over Adam Cartwright had shown just how effective that could be. She chastised herself once again for her impatience. She was a bit smug thinking of all the things she had learned to do to control a man despite his intelligence and defenses.

Interrupting Maria's musings were a number of men riding out from the Ponderosa after lunch. They headed out laughing and talking so she assumed they must be going to work. Then she saw the sheriff leave too. Finally, Ben Cartwright was riding out as well. Earlier that morning she had seen a hand pull the loft door closed and than later leave the stable. They were relaxing and thinking there was no longer a threat. Now was her time to strike. They had seriously underestimated her and let down their guard already. There were women, an injured man, and a seriously weakened man in the house with a small Chinese cook and children. It was already early afternoon so she assumed the two children would be asleep.

Mounting up, Maria rode to the back area of the house. As she stealthily approached the house through the trees, she saw the cook entering the smoke house and she smiled. Rushing to that building, she pushed the door closed and latched it. There was a pile of wood there so she piled some of the biggest pieces against the door. Then she approached the house. Peeking in the kitchen window, she saw it was empty so that was how she entered the house. She saw a shotgun leaning against the cabinets and smiled thinking it wouldn't do the cook much good considering where he was. She took a long knife from the counter and put her smaller knife in its sheath. She liked the look of the foot long knife and visualized it jutting out the front of Adam's body after she plunged the full length of it into him. She peeked out the kitchen door and saw Adam sitting at the table sipping coffee and reading some documents. She thought that this was going to be even easier than she thought.

Pulling her gun for added power, Maria prepared to confront Adam. When she stepped through the kitchen door, she could see how startled he was, but he recovered quickly. She was disappointed. She would have liked that fear that flashed across his face to remain. She would see what she could do about that.

"You can't get away with this. There are all sorts of people converging on this house right now."

"No, you can't fool me. I saw them all ride away, and I locked that pesky little cook in the smokehouse. There's no one here to save you now. She lunged forward and was gratified to see Adam jump up and begin backing away. She didn't want him to have the whole great room to run in so she jumped again making him retreat around the dining room table. He still didn't look scared, and she found that very irritating. "Run, like the coward you are, run. Just like you did the last time you were at my place. You were scared of me. You let me touch you and fondle you, and then you ran away like a scared schoolboy afraid of a woman."

"I didn't freely let you do anything. You had to drug me to get near me. You disgust me. I would never willingly let you touch me."

"All I wanted from you was a baby. If you had given me a baby, none of this would have happened. We could have been neighbors and you could have visited your child any time you wanted. You had to be so darn stubborn though. This is all your fault."

"My fault? Everything that happened was because of you." Thinking about what she had done, Adam asked the one question on the subject that no one had been able to understand. "Why did you want me to give you a baby?" But even as he asked the question, Adam thought he knew the answer. She wanted part of the Cartwright wealth and had formulated this plan to get some of it.

"Well I'm gonna touch you now. I'm gonna kill you, and then I'll cut off some parts for a trophy I think. Ah, I see that got your attention. Well you have less than a minute to live. You got any last words?"

"Yes, you won't be able to do this. There are three guns pointed at you now. Soon there will be more."

Glancing back, Maria saw a man in a red shirt and black vest walking down the stairs, and he had a rifle trained on her. Coming across the great room were Ben Cartwright and Sheriff Roy Coffee with their pistols drawn. Just when she thought it couldn't get much worse, a woman stepped into the kitchen doorway with a shotgun pointed across the dining room table directly at her midsection.

"You will not harm my husband again. I may not be much of a shot but no one can miss at this range. I would like nothing more than to blow you in two, you bitch."

That was it. Maria could take no more. She raised the knife over her head as she growled and almost shrieked. She thought to plunge this knife into Adam Cartwright if it was the last thing she would do on this earth but right then didn't seem to be a reasonable time to try it. As she moved to take a step, all four with weapons yelled warnings at her. She looked at them and them quickly whirled back and jumped with the knife raised high. Aida fired as did Candy, Ben, and Roy. Aida's shot blew out the window, and Maria Nolander flew out the window. All of them rushed to the window to look outside. Maria laid on her back with her eyes staring at the sky. There were bloody cuts and gashes up and down her hands and arms.

"Burn in hell, you witch." Aida had wondered when Adam taught her to shoot if she would ever be able to shoot a person, and then if she would be able to live with it afterwards. At the moment, she felt just fine.

Candy looked at her and had only one thing to say. "Ma'am, please let me know if I have ever pissed you off, because I have to tell you, I would never do that on purpose."

"Papa Ben, sorry about the window."

Those comments got a slight chuckle from the others and released more of the tension. Ben gently took the shotgun from Aida's hands. He loved all of his daughters-in-law especially because they each had such fierce devotion to his sons. Aida had proved that once again. Adam pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It seemed the nightmare was over. Joyce was upstairs with the children, and Ben went to tell her as well as Joe and Alice what had happened. Before he left, he told Candy to help Roy with the body. As he walked up the stairs, he was thinking about how trying to help a neighbor had led to all this turmoil. It wouldn't stop the family from helping their neighbors, but perhaps next time, they ought to send at least two to do the work.

As Ben sat upstairs in Joe's room telling Joyce, Joe, and Alice about what had happened, they all heard someone thundering up the stairs and looked to the door to see who it was. Candy appeared in the doorway, breathless and looking downright disconcerted.

"She's gone."

"Who's gone?"

"That Mrs. Nolander is gone. We went to get the body, or what we thought was a body, and it was gone. There's a little blood there, but nothing too bad. She's must have faked being dead so we would look away. She's gone. The men said they saw a rider going hard through the pines."

That silenced everyone. How could she have escaped when they thought she was dead? What had happened was that Aida in her excitement of shooting had pulled the barrel of the shotgun up and hit the glass in the upper part of the window just as Maria had basically stabbed the window and jumped through it to escape. The blood they saw on her was from the glass cuts on her arms. Those would bother her immensely for a number of days but the bandages could be easily covered up by the sleeves of her dress.

That woman was far more devilish than they had imagined. How would they tell Adam and Aida? The couple had been through so much already, and they still had no peace. Ben took a deep breath and headed downstairs to tell them the trouble wasn't over yet, but they would have some time for undoubtedly the woman was hurt at least. She would need time to recuperate as well, and they would not let their guard down so easily again.

That night the lanterns were burning outside again, and a sentry was on watch. A lamp stayed lit in the great room, and Adam and Aida went to their room upstairs. Everyone kept a firearm close at hand. What couldn't be guarded against so easily were the memories. As Adam lay down next to Aida and reached for her, he felt her shudder. He pulled his hand back and lay on his back staring into the darkness. He made no more moves, and Aida knew that he had felt her reaction. She couldn't help it. Memories of what he had said that woman had done to him made her feel somehow dirty for wanting to do the same things. She didn't know what to say so she said that.

"It's all right. Maybe tomorrow will be better."

"No, Adam, don't shut me out. This didn't just happen to you although you got the worst of it. This happened to us too. I can't just ignore everything and act like nothing happened."

"I didn't do anything willingly with her. I didn't even remember anything until that poison of hers wore off."

But Adam was remembering more and more. The memories that had been blocked in his foggy brain were cascading back. He felt humiliated that he had so little control over himself that he had let her touch him. He wanted Aida to touch him to help erase those awful memories, but there was a barrier between them now.

"Let's just go to sleep now, and hope those memories can fade for both of us."

And Adam rolled over on his side putting his back to his wife. This was the side of Adam that she found she disliked intently. It was a black brooding side that shut everyone out including her.

"No, I won't. You will talk with me or you will listen, but I will not tolerate this. You want understanding, but you aren't willing to give it."

Rolling back over to face his wife, Adam was angry now. "Understanding? Hell, woman, I want trust. Do you believe I would have let anything like that happen if I could have stopped it? Do you think I did anything like that because I wanted to? Do you think I let myself be humiliated and embarrassed like that."

"No, I don't. But what do you believe? What do you think?"

Dropping his head to Aida's chest, Adam heaved out his answer. "I am so sorry. I don't know how I let these things happen to me. I'm supposed to be strong and smart, but that woman so easily took things from me that I can never get back. What must everyone think of me to have failed so miserably to protect myself and the ones I love?"

"We think you are a good man who was attacked by an evil woman, and didn't get any help from us until it was almost too late. None of us can accept the blame for what that woman did and will continue to do until she is stopped."

"We don't know where she is and what she's planning."

"Yes, but we will be vigilant now until the danger has passed no matter how long it takes."

"So you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. You did nothing wrong. None of us did anything wrong. We may have made mistakes in judgment and we may have been misled and fooled, but that is the fault of the witch who orchestrated this out of greed."

"So, what do you really think of her?"

And Aida heard the sardonic humor back in his voice and she felt his arm wrap around her. "Maybe I'll tell you later. Right now, I think we have other things to do." And Adam and Aida began the road to recovery in their relationship.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

From behind, Adam felt her cool hands hover over his eyes and coax his eyelids shut before they began to massage his neck. Then her hands slipped down his chest unbuttoning his shirt and slipping inside to caress his chest. Her lips brushed across his ear and sucked at his earlobe, and then did the same on the other side before she kissed her way down his neck as her hands roamed lower and lower. Sliding around in front of him, she took his hands and placed them on her chest and moved them in circular strokes over herself. He felt her breath warm on his face then and opened his eyes to lean in to kiss her expecting Aida, but instead he saw Maria Nolander's face inches from his. He yelled out incoherently and jerked awake as he sat up abruptly in his bed.

"Was it that dream again?" Aida had been startled awake by Adam for several nights.

"Not a dream. It's a nightmare. I don't know why I keep having the same one."

"Perhaps your mind is trying to tell you something?"

"Perhaps my mind is trying to torture me." Then suddenly Adam closed his eyes and tried to remember. She had been saying something in that dream, and it was something important. "We should go to Reno. You and I could have a lot of fun in Reno."

"Why would you want to take me to Reno?"

"No, no, not you, Maria!"

"All right, you are making no sense at all. You want to take Maria to Reno?"

"No, in the nightmare, she said we ought to go to Reno. She said we could have a lot of fun there."

"You think she went to Reno?"

"Maybe. It's the first clue we've had. That might be why I kept having this same nightmare. My mind was telling me to remember what she said."

"What if it's just your active imagination at work?"

"There's only one way to find out."

"We're going to Reno?"

"No, I'm going to Reno. I think Adam Just will be resurrected one last time."

"You can't go alone. You're barely recovered from what she did to you."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. For now, let's try to go back to sleep."

The next morning at breakfast, Adam explained to his father, Joyce, and Candy what he wanted to do. Joe and Alice had moved back to their house because Joe could get around well on his crutches. As expected, Ben was not happy.

"Adam, you are just recovering from nearly dying. How can you even consider going off on a fool trip like this because of something you heard in a dream."

"Pa, I didn't hear it in a dream. I did have a nightmare. The same one I have been having for almost a week. Aida suggested that my mind was trying to tell me something. I concentrated on trying to remember the things that happened to me, and that's when I remembered her saying that. I think she's in Reno. By now she may be recovered from her injuries. She's a threat to me yet, and I need to deal with that."

"Hoss and I will come with you."

"Pa, she'll recognize you and Hoss immediately."

"Well she certainly will recognize you."

"No, I plan to go as Adam Just. I wasn't just lazy today. I'm letting the beard grow back. By the time I get to Reno, I'll have three days growth. You know how my beard grows. I'll wear the clothing that Adam Just wore too."

"Someone has to go with you."

"I'll go." Candy surprised all of them. Aida had been quiet but approved of this development. "Look, she doesn't really know me. She saw me once. I'll wear something other than a red shirt and black vest. I'll borrow a hat, and if Adam has a spare duster, I'll wear that too."

Conceding that he could not stop Adam from going, Ben did make a good point. "You don't have a plan. Facing this woman without a plan is foolhardy." Everyone noticed that Ben had also conceded that they would be finding Maria Nolander in Reno, as well as accepting that they needed a plan.

The five of them started planning then. As it turned out, Ben was part of the plan, and Joyce was very worried about that. He would be going to Reno too, but not with the two younger men. Ben would go by stage a day after Adam and Candy left on horseback. They would take rooms near each other so they could confer, but Ben would take a grand suite, and the other two would share an ordinary room.

"You don't snore like your brother, Hoss, do you?"

Adam said no, but Aida said just to roll him on his side or stomach and he would stop. At Adam's fake glare, they all laughed.

"No, from what I've heard, he doesn't snore like Hoss, but it's loud enough if you let him sleep on his back."

Candy didn't know Adam that well yet. He had returned only a little more than a year earlier, and Candy had not been there before he left. Both men decided they would probably know the other a lot better by the end of this trip.

Joyce had one more suggestion. "Ben, why don't you take Will with you? He's been gone on that trip to Mexico for months. It's unlikely that Maria Nolander would recognize him by sight. He can look like quite a dandy, but he's good with a gun and he'll watch your back too."

If Will agreed to go, they would need to make a slight alteration in their plan, but all of them liked Joyce's suggestion. She had one more idea. How about if you talk to Roy and he alerts the law officials in Reno to what you plan to do. That would be more to back you up if you need it. Adam wasn't as sure of that idea, but he was overruled by the others who wanted to do it.

The rest of the day was spent in preparation and discussing their plan. Ben rode over to talk with Will to enlist his help. Candy and Adam prepared their costumes. They would look much alike by the time they reached Reno. Both were letting their beards grow, and they would wear slouch hats and dusters making it difficult even for someone who knew them well to recognize them. Adam had lost weight and that would work to their advantage too. The plan was to lure her in so the rest could swoop in and take her into custody. Then the law could deal with her, and she would no longer be a threat to anyone in the family.

Early the next morning, Adam and Candy were up early. Hop Sing served them an early breakfast and handed them a food sack. They left soon after looking like two nondescript men who traveled a lot. By the time they reached Reno with another two days of beard growth and the dust of the trail, no one would likely recognize the oldest heir to the Ponderosa and the handsome foreman of that same ranch. Late that day, Ben went to town, met Will, and they departed for Reno on the stage looking like two well dressed affluent businessmen. In the plan, Will would try to entice Maria Nolander out of hiding. Ben and the others would be there to back him up if that happened. Meanwhile Adam and Candy would also be using other means to ferret her out.

By late the next day, Ben and Will arrived in Reno, took suites in the hotel, and went to dinner together making sure not to speak in such a way as to let people know they were related. Will registered using his mother's maiden name so no one could connect them that way. The two retired to bed relaxing after a bumpy stage trip, and confident that they had made the impression they had intended to make.

The next morning, Adam and Candy rode into town. At the livery, they saw a sign.

"Flip ya for it?"

So they flipped a coin, and Adam ended up working at the livery stable where he could observe and evaluate. Candy got to go from saloon to saloon gathering any information that he could. What had amazed Candy at first was that Adam won the bet and took the job caring for horses and mucking out the stable. As Candy started to feel the effects of beer and whisky after hours of traipsing through saloons and hitting on saloon girls to try to find information, he understood why Adam had let him have this job. Hoss had told Candy once that Adam didn't drink much because he thought it cost him his edge and that he always liked to be in control. Especially after what had happened to Adam recently, Candy could understand why he would be reluctant to drink anything that could affect his mind. In the early evening, Adam walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder startling him.

"It's a good thing I wasn't her. You could be dead right now."

"I thought she uses tea and cookies."

"You forget the woman she murdered. She snapped her neck. Then she came at me with a knife. Don't underestimate her."

"See anything?"

"Saw Pa and Will heading over for dinner. They'll probably head to their rooms after that. Let's get some dinner, and then we can do the same. I'm guessing you didn't find out anything?"

At Candy's headshake, Adam said he expected that. She had been hurt and had likely been lying low as she recovered. It was over a week now, and as devious and evil as she was, Adam had to assume she was already working her next scheme. The biggest questions were what was it and was she doing it in Reno. Adam had earlier sent a telegram letting his wife know that all was well so far for he knew she would have trouble sleeping worrying about what Maria Nolander was doing. After dinner, Candy and Adam headed to their room. Adam asked Candy to contact his father and let him know that they were in town but hadn't found out anything yet.

The next day proceeded much as the first except that Adam thought he spotted Maria scurrying down the street soon after he reported to his job. There were so many people, and she was dressed so differently than he had expected, that he was unable to follow her. He got a tongue lashing at the stable for leaving his post, and spent the rest of the day currying horses in the corral. That worked well for him because he had a great vantage point for watching who passed in the street. He did not see her again. Will and Ben made the rounds of banks and places of business making inquiries but not stating what they wanted to do. Ben thought Will seemed tired when he knocked on his door that morning but attributed it to the long stage ride, drinking wine with dinner, and then sleeping in a strange bed. He should have been more suspicious.

The next morning, Ben knocked on Will's door and there was no answer. He went down to the dining room thinking that perhaps Will had already gone to breakfast, but he wasn't there either. Risking exposure of their plan, Ben went to the room shared by Adam and Candy. Adam had already left for work, but Candy was very suspicious of the circumstances immediately. He rushed up the stairs to Will's room. When there was no answer, he asked Ben to get a key from the desk. Ben rushed because he was getting a very bad feeling from this. As he unlocked the door and entered the room with Candy, some of his worst fears were realized. Will lay in bed with a large knife protruding from his abdomen. The room had been ransacked. A doctor was summoned, and Candy went to tell Adam the bad news but was met by the sheriff in the lobby and escorted back up to the room.

"Now, Roy Coffee told me a little about what's been going on, Mr. Cartwright, but I have to tell you, this is the second one of these incidents this week. I'm thinking that woman you're after is mighty close."

Down the hall, a maid coming out of a room after cleaning it heard that statement. She quickly moved down the back stairs to the supply room. There she discarded her maid's uniform and dressed hurriedly in her normal clothing. She pulled a bag from behind a cabinet, and then rushed to the boardinghouse where she had a room. There, she packed up her meager belongings but made sure to cover the money packed into one valise after putting a nice sum in her purse. Carrying three bags, she paid her bill and walked rapidly to the livery stable to rent a carriage which she had no intention of returning.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

As Maria walked into the livery stable, she saw the owner bent over a box and asked how much it would be to rent a carriage and a horse. He quoted her a price to which she agreed. Then he yelled for Adam to bring in a carriage horse and to harness him to the carriage. Maria had a premonition when she heard the name Adam, and it was verified when he walked into the stable. He dropped the lead rope on the horse and drew his pistol aiming it at her midsection.

"Well, I have been looking for you."

"Oh, no, not you. Oh, please, don't hurt me again."

Wondering what game the woman was playing this time, Adam was not at all prepared to be hit from behind by the owner of the livery stable. He fell to his knees dropping his pistol. He could hear what she said next but couldn't respond.

"Oh, thank you, kind sir. He was my boyfriend until I escaped. He used to beat me and do such vile things. Now he tracked me down here. What can I do?"

"Ma'am, I'll hitch up this carriage for you, and I'll get the sheriff to take care of him. You can just let the carriage be, and I'll send someone to get it. Now where are you headed?"

Knowing that she needed to hide her tracks even better, she told him Virginia City. She even offered to buy the carriage and horse, but he would hear none of it as he was being chivalrous and helping a lady in distress. Adam tried to warn the man, but he didn't listen. He had been stripped of his weapon, and the blow to the head had robbed him of the ability to fight back for the moment. Maria wanted to kill him right then and there, but that would jeopardize her escape so she couldn't do it. She did pull a small brown medicinal vial from her pocket and told her champion to give it to Adam to help him with the pain from his head.

"Ma'am, you are an angel to be thinking on helping him after all he done to you. Now I'll load up your bags so you can be on your way. Don't worry, this jasper won't be causing you any more harm."

Climbing into the carriage, Maria had to smile at the man. He didn't even notice her scars but had succumbed to her story and her charm. She was quite proud of herself and wondered just where these skills could take her. She did hope the man would get that vial of her brew into Adam and remove him as an obstacle to her success. She was thinking a hard drive to Carson City, and then a stage to California. There must be many places where she could be successful there.

After being questioned by the sheriff, Candy headed to the livery stable to inform Adam of what had happened. As he walked into the stable, Candy was shocked by what he saw. With a bleeding head wound, Adam was down on all fours and struggling with the owner of the stable as the man tried to get him to drink from a small brown vial. Candy rushed forward and grabbed the man's hand.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"It's for his own darn good, and it's a lot more than he deserves to get. Now let go of me cause I gotta get the sheriff for him."

Looking down at Adam, Candy asked what had happened. Grimacing in pain, Adam told him. Then Candy informed the stable owner that he had just helped a murderer escape. The man was shocked.

"The sheriff is with her latest victim over at the hotel. The doctor is doing his best to save him."

Adam's chest constricted at that comment.

"Adam, it's Will. She stabbed him in the gut. He was able to tell us a little. He ate a breakfasts yesterday and today he thought your pa sent to his room. With two doses of her potion, next thing he knew he was in bed and felt a sharp pain. He fought with her or she would have gutted him like a deer. The knife was huge."

"Candy, you have to go after her. We can't let her kill anyone else."

"Which way did she go?"

"She said Virginia City." The stable manager was trying to be helpful then.

Adam wasn't buying it. "But that's got to be a lie. I would guess Carson. She can head almost anywhere from there, and pushing hard, she could be there by tomorrow."

Candy saddled up his horse and told the stable owner to get Adam over to the hotel. The man balked, and Candy warned him he could be charged with aiding a criminal and with assault on Adam. The man nodded and agreed to do as asked. Candy rode hard and soon spotted a carriage up ahead. Smiling to himself that he and Adam had guessed correctly, he rode to overtake her.

"Ma'am, pull up, or I'll shoot you where you sit."

Pulling the rig to the side, Maria was incensed.

"How dare you? You common ruffian, what do you want. I only have my clothing in those old bags so there's nothing here for you to steal."

"No, ma'am, I don't care what's in those bags. You're the old bag I want. Now turn this rig around and head back to town."

"For what possible reason would you want me to do that? I have permission to use this carriage." Maria had a sinking feeling about all of this.

"Oh, I think you have a date with the sheriff. Let me see, murder, attempted murder, poisoning, theft, and I would guess a whole lot of other nasty stuff you have managed to do."

"No, I don't think so." And before Candy could do anything, Maria took a brown vial from her pocket and drained the contents. She looked smugly at him until the pain hit and she doubled over. Within minutes, she was unconscious, and a few minutes later, Candy could detect no pulse and no breathing. He tied Scout to the back of the carriage and drove back to town with the lifeless body next to him.

By the time Candy dropped the body at the undertakers and talked to the sheriff, it was dark. He walked to the hotel wondering what the news would be. He knocked on the door of Ben's suite, and Ben answered the door obviously relieved to see him whole and healthy. Adam was sitting in a chair holding a cloth to the back right side of his head where he had been hit.

"Joe would say it was lucky he hit you in the head."

"Thanks, that means so much."

"Well you must be feeling all right then. How's Will?"

Ben answered. "He's holding his own. We wired for Laura, and she's on her way. Doctor told us that a little higher and to the right, and he wouldn't be here. There's still a risk of infection, and even without that, he faces months of difficult recuperation."

"What about Maria?" Adam was worried that Candy had not volunteered that information.

"She's over at the undertaker's. She poisoned herself instead of coming back here to face hanging. It's late so the undertaker said he'd take care of her in the morning. It's pretty cool tonight so that shouldn't be a problem."

Adam frowned and Candy watched him think. Adam looked up at Candy.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Later that night, Maria felt consciousness returning. She was cold, and the only light in the room came from the moon shining in one window up high on the wall. She had taken a big chance. She smiled. Those men always thought they were so smart, but she had outwitted them again. She would get a horse or whatever she could and be long gone before they came looking for her body in the morning. She began to sit up when she heard the distinct cocking of two pistols.

"Good evening, Maria. You seem so alert for a dead woman." It was the voice of the man she thought she could love at one time and now hated and despised.

Then the door opened and Ben Cartwright stepped into the room with a lamp in his hand. Maria looked around to see Adam and the man who had apprehended her standing close to her with pistols trained on her. She screamed and reached for Adam but he raised the pistol and hit her solidly in the forehead with the butt end of it.

The sheriff stepped into the room then. "You could hit her a few more times if you want. It will make taking her to the jail that much easier."

"No, I think that was enough. She'll be able to think clearly for the trial and the sentencing and then that long walk up the gallows steps. And Sheriff, if you wouldn't mind a little advice, handcuff her hands behind her back, search her thoroughly, and gag her until the trial."

Well the first two of those the sheriff willingly did. He wanted to do the third, but people just wouldn't tolerate that no matter what the bitch said.

**Later:**

Thanksgiving was a joyous holiday that year. For the first time in weeks, Will was able to eat a normal meal. Joe had been able to ditch the crutches and was back to riding. Maria had hanged as predicted. Joe and Adam had gone to see the hanging not because they liked watching anyone hang, and especially a woman, but until they actually saw her hang, they wondered if she would somehow escape again. But there was no doubt that was the woman who had tried to kill them. She screamed vitriol at them as she was forced up the steps and continued to slander anyone within hearing until the trapdoor dropped and her neck snapped. There was no celebration of her death, but there was great feeling of peace that descended on the whole family once they knew that threat was gone. Everything returned to normal as the family looked forward to the Christmas season.


	9. Epilogue

**The Christmas Trip**

What would he do? Aida wondered as she readied herself for bed. Her husband was angry but as much at himself as he was at her. She never knew how he would be after an argument. Sometimes contrite and gentle, he would sensuously seduce her and their lovemaking would be warm and soothing making them feel like each was part of the whole. Other times he was lustful and energetic using his talents to overwhelm her defenses until all she wanted was to have him as he took her with energetic lovemaking and she craved the physical release that he could give her. Then there were those black moods when he shut himself away from her and worked through his anger and regrets without including her in his self examination and hurting her as much as whatever had come between them.

Aida hoped so much for the lustful overpowering man and dressed provocatively hoping to incite that passion in him. She would settle willingly for the gentle sensuous love for that meant he was so remorseful he couldn't take a chance on hurting her physically. What she feared was that dark Adam who pushed her away emotionally and let her lay quietly on her side of the bed until morning when exhausted and contrite after a fitful night, he would turn to her and reach for her with a look of helplessness that bespoke more than words how he feared losing her because of his behavior.

Downstairs Adam finished calculating the costs of contracts he needed to deliver. The weather was likely to be miserable, and he didn't look forward at all to the trip that was coming. What he did not understand was how Aida has insisted she should come along. The trip would be hazardous as it was, and with worrying about her safety and well-being, Adam was sure the trip would take even more time. The very last thing he wanted to do was be stranded in Carson City for the Christmas holiday. He had missed so many of those with his family, and this one would be more special than most for it was his son's first birthday as well.

Everything had been going so well, he should have known trouble was going to rear up. First his father announced that it was too late to mail those contracts to buyers in Carson, and someone would have to take them there. He knew immediately whom his father meant by that, and that upset him. Then Aida had stated that she wanted to go along to make some last minute purchases for Christmas. He and she had argued in front of Ben and Joyce that they had never done before, well at least that openly.

Of course, Ben and Joyce had sided with Aida saying how wonderful the scenery would be with that light coating of snow and how wonderful the shopping in Carson would be. They argued that as busy as the last year had been, Adam and Aida had rarely had time to themselves and seldom even had time for a dinner in town. Joyce had gushed about how romantic it would be, but she wasn't fooling Adam at all. She wanted the house to herself so she and Ben could have some romantic time themselves while he was driving a carriage through ice and snow and who knows what else.

Then Adam had stormed out of the house to go do chores, but what he really wanted was time to himself away from the badgering. Once he had time to think about it, he decided it wouldn't really be that bad to have his wife to himself for a short trip. The deliveries of the contracts and the bargaining to seal the deals would not take much time and they could shop and then have a hotel room all to themselves. Danny had recently been weaned and wouldn't need to be with them. By the time he decided all that of course, he had worked himself into a real sweat and needed time in the washroom to clean up. As he walked into the great room, a single lamp was burning and the fire had been banked for the night. He needed to ready the contracts and information so they would be ready to go first thing in the morning.

When he finished, Adam decided that the only thing to do was to tell Aida that she would be going with him to Carson. Walking slowly up the stairs, Adam wondered which Aida he would find. Would she be the shy and quiet lover he had first known who had let him take the lead, touching her and kissing her until he couldn't help himself as she wrapped her arms around his neck hanging on and trusting him implicitly. Or would she be cool and standoffish and make him regret marrying her until he thought about their life together and all the blessings she had brought to him as he found sleep elusive. They would make slow love in the light of dawn as he would pull her to him and beg her forgiveness, and then she would lean forward kissing him and telling him how much she loved him. Sometimes they would make love a second time arriving late to the breakfast table to knowing glances and Hop Sing's complaints that the food was cold.

And sometimes it was like tonight. When Adam opened the door, Aida was sitting at her dressing table brushing out her hair. She had on her low cut gown that she only wore when she wanted him to love her robustly. She stood and he saw she had only tied the top ribbon. The gown gaped open. Aida looked at him with her lips slightly parted, and he walked to her crushing her to him and kissing her hard and deep. Then he picked her up and carried her to the bed. Setting her atop the covers, he opened the ribbon she had tied and looked at her body as he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and removed it. She watched every thing he did with lust in her eyes. He slipped off his boots and then his pants as quickly as he could. He settled onto the bed next to her and pulled her to him. The lovemaking was robust and energetic until he rolled to her side and pulled her to him for another deep kiss. There were no words as they fell asleep wrapped in each other's embrace.

In the morning, Adam realized he had not told Aida that she could come on the trip with him. He gently awakened her with kisses. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Am I going with you to Carson?"

"Yes, you are. It's just that this is such a difficult trip. I'm afraid something could happen to you."

"Adam, I trust you. You know that. You will always do your best for me, and that's all that matters. We never know what can happen in life, but I very much want to spend the next two days with you."

The decision was made, and all that was left to do was pack. They wouldn't need much for only two days travel. Then they went down to breakfast and to tell Ben and Joyce that they were going. Aida went to get Danny from his room and found he was already gone. Ben must have taken him downstairs. The two seemed to like the quiet time they had together in the mornings when Adam and Aida would find them in the chair in front of the fireplace.

Candles, a lantern, extra blankets, a tarp, lots of food, and even some firewood were packed in the back of the carriage and in the boot by Hop Sing. That he did not approve of Ben sending his eldest son on a trip at this time of year was all too clear. He wished Adam and Aida good weather and good luck on their short trip, and after a disdainful look at Ben, he walked back into the house.

Once again, Ben asked Adam if he had enough cash in his wallet, and were the contracts safely stored. Once again, he was reassured by Adam that all was well. Adam and Aida had come down to breakfast wondering what the reception would be. Both Ben and Joyce greeted them like there had been no major disagreement the night before. Aida looked at Adam and gave him one of her most smug looks. She had said that he yelled out loud enough the night before that anyone would know what they had been doing, and that she was sure Ben and Joyce would be well aware that they had made up.

Now in the carriage, Adam and Aida headed for Carson City and two days with just the two of them. They had not really had a chance to have an outing like this for a very long time where romance was the object. By the time they had arrived on the Ponderosa, Aida was well along in her pregnancy, and Adam had become a gentle lover. He had not been adventurous and energetic in their private time as he had when they had first been together. Both were looking forward to this trip despite the cold, but found there was one huge advantage. A large thick blanket covered the two of them from the waist to their feet.

As they traveled, they were able to snuggle under the blanket, and Adam promised her that the first thing they would do in Carson would be to spend some romantic time together. With what Adam had said to her, Aida found that the trip seemed to take forever this time. They had traveled this road many times but this time she couldn't wait to get to Carson so the trip seemed so much longer.

Once Adam registered at the hotel in Carson, he told Aida that they ought to go up to their room to freshen up before heading out to run errands and shop. She smiled knowing he had something planned. Once in the room, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply. He stood holding her tightly to him as his tongue danced in her mouth. Then he pushed her back to the bed and laid down with her never releasing his grip on her. He reached up with one hand and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her dress. He kissed and caressed her as the two of them took a lot of time letting each other know how much they loved each other. Smiling at her as he kissed her when they finished, Adam asked if she would mind doing a little business and then shopping. He also said he thought they ought to find a fine restaurant and have a romantic dinner. They had fun for the rest of the day, talking and laughing as they ran errands, shopped, and then found a very nice restaurant where they got a private booth and tried some dishes that were new to them.

Once back in the room, they made slow sensuous love to each other and fell into a most restful sleep. The next morning, snow was falling. They packed everything up as quickly as they could, stopped in a couple of shops to pick up items they had thought about buying the day before, and then headed for home. Adam told her she had to behave herself because they needed to get home before too much snow had fallen. She asked what he would do if she was bad, and he said he would do whatever she wanted if she would just be good.

The snow started to get heavier and heavier as they traveled. Adam wished they had just stayed in Carson. However it wasn't too bad until the wind picked up. He knew then that they would never make it back to the ranch until the storm had passed. Thinking about all the possibilities they had for shelter, he turned the carriage off the road at the crossroads and headed through a passage between two groves of trees. It was the line shack that was furthest from the ranch house and generally ramshackle, but it would be sufficient for a day or two or at least he hoped it would be sound enough. If not, they would have to create some kind of shelter there even if he had to rig a lean to. They couldn't stay out in this weather very long without risking their lives.

Once Adam saw the cabin appear almost like magic before them, he was relieved. The cabin roof was still there, and the door and the windows appeared to be closed. One never knew what condition this little used line shack might be in during the winter. He helped Aida from the carriage and carried in all of the supplies Hop Sing had packed away for them. Aida quickly checked the chimney for its draft and then started a fire. Adam went outside to take the horses behind the shack where they could have some shelter. He was surprised to find some hay stacked there. Even though the mice had made inroads, there was plenty there yet for the horses. He would melt some snow for them later so they could drink.

Hurrying back inside, Adam thought that he would need a rope line to venture outside again so he grabbed an armload of firewood before going inside. Aida was cleaning up the mouse nests and cobwebs inside, and had some water already heating by the fireplace. There was a cold draft coming from the door which faced directly into the wind. Adam looked into the supplies in the trunk that was in every line cabin and found a canvas tarp which he used to cover the door and its leaks. It would have to be removed every time they wanted to go outside but for now it would keep the place warmer. They used the water to wet a rag and wipe the dust from the table, chairs, and the single cot in the cabin. They found a kettle, a pot, and a coffeepot. They had no coffee but they could drink hot water to help stay warm. The food supplies that Hop Sing had insisted on packing for them were truly appreciated.

"That cot looks rather small."

Adam looked at her with a smug look like only he could do. "We'll just have to spoon very tight so we both fit. We need to stay warm tonight, and body heat will be essential."

Aida laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows in a parody of a lustful look. There was something she had wanted to talk with him about for quite a while, and there had never seemed to be a good time to do it. Locked away in the privacy of this cabin, it seemed a good time to bring it up.

"Adam, why me?"

"Well, you're here because we're married, and we can sleep in the same bed without anyone being concerned. I would think that was obvious."

"No, I mean, why did you pick me. Of all the women you must have met, why did you pick me?"

Adam reached across the table and took her hands in his. "You were so open and trusting. I never have understood how you could trust me so implicitly right from the start, but you did. You listened, you talked, you laughed. You accepted me as I was. You have never asked me to change nor expected me to change. It was all I ever wanted from a woman. I think somehow, we were meant to be together. I don't put much stock usually in fate, but how we met has tested my ideas about that. Now it's your turn. Why did you trust me when we first met? I had little to fear from you, but you took a big risk coming with me."

"I'm not sure I can explain it. There was something about you. Your eyes made you look so hurt and vulnerable, but your manner was so self assured and confident. You spoke so eloquently of justice, the west, and great literature. You didn't look at all concerned that you were sitting with a woman well past the age when most women marry and that I wrote books for a living. You just said to me that there must be a fascinating story behind all of that. You were an amazing amalgam of all these traits that seemed sometimes incongruous. A bounty hunter who loved Shakespeare with those calluses on your hands and beautiful words just enchanted me."

"That's it? My lord, woman, you could have been badly hurt going with the wrong man."

"No, you see, I never had. Many men tried, but you didn't. You let me make my own decision. When I got off the train behind you with my valise, you turned and grinned at me like a naughty schoolboy. I was very scared actually until I saw that smile. Then you showed me to a nice hotel, and we continued our conversations and it was wonderful."

"If I recall correctly, we did a helluva lot more than have conversations."

"Yes, and you were so kind and gentle with me. I can never tell you enough how important that was to me especially after what happened in my past. Without knowing any of that, you were still so considerate of how I felt. Of course, I might have been a little worried if I knew then that you followed me to Abilene."

"All out of love, sweetheart, it was all done for love. But now I think we need to melt some snow for the horses so I can give them both a good drink. It looks like we're spending the night."

The next morning, wrapped tightly in their blankets, Adam and Aida heard a hail from outside. It was Hoss of course and he was announcing his arrival and giving them time to get decent if they had to. Both were fully dressed though as a defense against the cold. Adam pulled the canvas tarp from the door, and stepped out to greet his brother.

"Kinda thought if you was on your way home, you wouldn't have gotten much further than this. That storm kicked up real sudden like yesterday afternoon. Pa's been worried sick as you can imagine, and there's one lonely little boy a waiting on ya too."

Squinting into the bright sunlight, Adam looked out over the snowdrifts. "Not so sure the carriage can make it through the snow. We're quite a distance from the road here."

"That's no problem. Pa and Joyce are out on the road in the sleigh. I'll just signal them to come this way."

Hoss fired off three shots, and within about fifteen minutes, the sleigh arrived. Sitting on Joyce's lap was Danny. As soon as he saw his parents, he spread his arms wide and called for them.

Adam reached up to take his son from Joyce and hugged him as Danny wrapped his arms around his father's neck. Adam looked up at his father and Joyce then with a questioning look which Joyce answered.

"He missed the two of you so much. He hardly slept last night. We made a mistake yesterday and said you were coming home. So when you weren't there by bedtime, he was in tears. When we wanted to leave this morning, he hollered and put up such a fuss, we didn't want to saddle Hop Sing with him when Hop Sing has so much work to do today. So here you have him. A one year old toddler on a rescue mission."

Aida had been rubbing Danny's back and he leaned toward her until Adam handed him to his mother. Danny wrapped his arms around his mother and buried his face in her neck. A couple of tears slid down her face at his reaction to their return. Adam helped her up into the sleigh, and Joyce pulled a heavy quilt up to cover them as they snuggled in the back. Adam retrieved their valises and purchases and loaded all of it into the sleigh at Aida's feet. Then he went into the cabin to douse the fire and straighten everything up as Hoss got the two carriage horses from behind the cabin. They would let the carriage stay here until the weather improved and some of the snow melted. Hoss rode out leading the two carriage horses as Adam climbed into the sleigh to sit with his wife and son. Soon they were headed home. They met Joe and a few others on the road. Ben told them they could go ahead and get a couple of trees for the whole family was accounted for.

The next day was Christmas Eve and the day was spent decorating and preparing for the big family celebration. Hop Sing had prepared many fine dishes and baked goods before departing for Virginia City and his family celebration there with cousins who had recently converted to Christianity and found the Christmas holiday a joyous occasion. Joyce and Aida loved it too because it meant that from now on, they had free rein in the kitchen on Sundays and every holiday. They had been working with Hop Sing in the preparation of meals but wanted to do some experimenting which Hop Sing would not allow. He wanted a recipe before cooking any dish. This way the ladies could try things out, and write down the recipes for the concoctions that their men found appealing. Christmas dinner though would be traditional, and Claire and Alice were in the kitchen helping as well.

Sitting on a chair, Claire closed her eyes and sighed. The others asked if she was feeling all right, and Claire responded that she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. They asked if Josh had had trouble sleeping, and she said that wasn't the boy who had pestered her. Her sly grin made them all laugh as she said Hoss had big appetites and wasn't easily satisfied. Alice blushed a little at that, and she had to admit that she was weaning Mary Elizabeth, and Joe found the extra time he had with her at night very enjoyable. Joyce laughed and looking at Aida asked if the minister had let her sleep. That got the other ladies to ask what the heck she was talking about. Joyce said she and Ben heard Adam calling on the Almighty and thanking Him so often that they had privately started referring to him as the minister. Claire and Alice looked at them in surprise at that comment, but Aida just nodded for she knew better than to say anything about their life because of how much Adam valued his privacy. She would have to find a way to tell him about the minister thing though. He wouldn't be happy.

As the ladies placed the hot dishes on the table and called the family to dinner, Adam was curious about the strange looks he was getting from Claire and Alice. He sat next to Aida for dinner and held Danny on his lap. He looked at Aida to see if she could offer him any insight but she mouthed later and turned to putting food on his plate and on a smaller plate for Danny. Ben asked who would like to say grace, and Claire said it would seem most appropriate if Adam did, and then all four ladies blushed. Adam and his brothers wondered at that comment, but Ben had a fairly good idea at that point. He suspected that Joyce had been sharing some tales with the daughters-in-law as they all worked in the kitchen. He was going to have to have a long talk with her about telling tales on Adam. Then he thought he would have to console her with some fine loving, and was so lost in his thoughts that Joyce had to remind him that Adam was about to say grace. Alice almost started laughing when Adam said they should thank the Almighty for their bounty. Adam started to get a sneaking suspicion then that the joke was on him. Hoss and Joe were anxious to talk to their wives and find out the whole story.

That night, Aida was in the uncomfortable position of having to explain to Adam what all the humor was about, and as expected, he wasn't at all happy about it. She wasn't sure if he would make love to her after she told him what had been said.

Aida need not have worried. Adam's desire for her was strong regardless of circumstances. They made slow sensuous love but Adam was uncharacteristically quiet. Then she asked the question as to why he had been so quiet, but even as she asked it, she knew the answer. He didn't want to be overheard. Hoss and Joe and their wives were staying overnight because of the holiday, and he thought his father and Joyce had already heard far too much. The next morning at breakfast, Hoss and Joe snickered when Adam and Aida came down the stairs. They asked Adam to say grace again, and when he gave thanks for all the gifts they had received, all the ladies said 'Amen' quite loudly. Soon all the adults were laughing. Adam leaned over and gave Aida a passionate kiss that silenced the snickering.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart!"


End file.
